In 2009, for the first time, all of the band's 3 recordings for Ace of Hearts
(Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, Magnetic Flip and Beat of the Mesozoic) were
reissued in their entirety and in the order in which they were originally
heard when they were first issued. In the the words of Erik Lindgren,
the remastering done here, "sonically makes the 'Sonic Geology' package
irrelevant." The package comes with a 20 page booklet of notes and
photos and there is a huge wealth of totally cool CDRom material - 175
photos, art files, set-lists, dioramas, letters, documents and more. Additionally,
there are two studio tracks and seven live tracks, none of which have
ever been heard before, for over 45' of bonus material.

“If
the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is ‘Thank
You,’ that would suffice.” So yeah, thank you. Because
who could resist the stately and surprisingly plump pieces on this
comprehensive Ace of Hearts anthology with superadded bonus outtakes
and live tracks? Only a person with a heart of stone. From the 1983
self-titled EP, opener “Sound Valentine” and “Orange
Ocean” are the stand-outs. Proceeding to 1984’s Magnetic
Flip we venture into more rugged territory; for some of us, the
majestic opening track, “Shiny Golden Snakes,” and the
tumultuous “Terry Riley’s House” must surely have
been turbulent highlights from that lost year of dread, with “International
Tours” and “Bridge Underwater” their psychopomp
antitheses.The 1986 release Beat of the Mesozoic features more of
the band’s playful yet consistently stirring and ambitious
classical pieces, notably the opener “Lost in the B-Zone,”
the luminescent “Waterwheel,” and the elegaic “Scenes
From a...”. The seven live tracks, retroactively titled Between
the Fires, reveal a band ably positioned to perform live some of
their most rigorous and intellectually challenging compositions,
notably “Carbon 14” and the astonishing, otherworldly
climax to “Lqabblil Insanya.”